Police Investigate "Noose" on the North Shore

As a woman prepared to get her hair styled at a salon on the Northshore Wednesday morning, she looked out of the second floor window and watched as a man hung a noose in plain view of the black-owned shop.

The witness immediately told the store owner, Lana Hudson, who called NewsChannel 9 and the police.

We arrived and found a yellow noose hanging on the third level of the construction site across the street.

New condos are being built at the Tremont location directly across from Hudson's business.

A Chattanooga police officer arrived and within minutes, one of the construction workers removed the noose.

The store owner says there's no doubt in her mind that the noose was a message of hate, directed toward her, and her business.

Due to the seriousness of the case, the FBI is now assisting in the investigation.

Investigators say they have a good idea of who did it, now they need to determine intent. The noose could be classified as a hate crime and if so, that violates federal civil rights laws.

The owner of the construction company Jimmy Hudson says he does not tolerate this type of behavior, and whoever is responsible will be fired.